A better future

Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life

Most of us tend to think of the second half of life as largely about
getting old, dealing with health issues, and letting go of life.
However, what looks like falling down to many can largely be experienced
as “falling upward.” In fact, our demise and/or failures and
imperfections are not a loss but somehow actually a gain and all can
look to their elders to see how it is in this second half where people
achieve true spiritual fullness.

FALLING UPWARD: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life by
Father Richard Rhor helps people understand the tasks of the two halves
of life and to show them that those who have gone “down” are the only
ones who understand “up.” Those who have somehow fallen, and fallen
well, are the only ones who can grow spiritually and not misuse “up”. He
describes what “up” (in the second half of life) will look like and
could look like.

Many, if not most, people and institutions remain in “the first half of
life” forever, preoccupied with establishing their identity, climbing,
achieving, and performing. If you knew there was a further journey,
wouldn't you choose to do the "first half" quite differently? The
further journey involves challenges, mistakes, loss of control, even
"necessary suffering," because that is how we grow.

“The soul has many secrets, and one of the best-kept ones is that the
way up is actually on the way down. It is in the moments when we
believed we’ve ‘fallen’ is when the real spiritual break-throughs
occurs. I wrote this book to help those reverse their thinking, and to
stop trying to strive for perfection because that can’t be achieved – to
grow up we must pass through the darkness, it is there that we can find
our true light.”

This message of falling down and in fact moving up is the most
counterintuitive message in most of the world religions, including and
most especially Christianity. We grow spiritually much more by doing it
wrong than by doing it right.

FALLING UPWARD teaches us not be afraid of our failures or moving
closer to the end of our time on this earth. Instead, it is an
opportunity to further spiritually evolve and to experience real
spiritual growth.